Chocolate Cream Pie

Justine, my new pen pal in San Francisco, recently went gluten-free. We have been corresponding about her quest to find a good gluten free pie crust for the holidays. I have had much fun chatting with Justine via email, enjoying her determination and attention to detail. Justine, here is my take on a flaky gluten-free crust. Please let me know how it turns out.

Sift arrowroot powder into the pot, whisk vigorously by hand or with a hand blender for 2 minutes

Whisk in agave and vanilla

Remove from heat and let stand for 1 minute

Add chocolate, stirring vigorously until completely melted

Chill in refrigerator for ½ hour until cool

Place in cooled pie crust

Serve

3.3.3070

The idea for this delicious gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate cream pie recipe was inspired by Heidi of 101 Cookbooks. Although her recipes are not gluten-free, this site is currently my favorite food blog as I find Heidi’s recipes completely innovative and her photos mouth watering.

The gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan pie crust recipe above can be used, of course, for any pie, not just the chocolate cream pie. Enjoy!

Comments

Elana-
I just tried your pie crust to make a strawberry pie (the rest of my family got it with regular crust). I had to use honey instead of agave since I’m at my parents’ house, but it is YUMMY! I made my own “flour” from slivered almonds, but this was terrific! I’ve never liked regular pie crust anyway so I may convert to this one full timje.

Zebe – I so enjoy hearing about all of your experiments and adventures. For me, that’s the whole idea –take the recipes and adapt to the ingredients you have on hand and whatever mood you are in. Way to go :-)

I have a question about using this recipe for a quiche (which sounds amazing!). Do you basically double bake the crust? If so, how do you ensure to not burn it while baking the quiche? Also, do you think Agave is necessary if going for a more savory taste? And, if you run out of agave, what you recommend as a substitute. thanks!

I enjoy cooking with dagoba chocodrops and use them in all of my recipes that call for chocolate so am not sure what would work best as a substitute; please feel free to experiment with replacement ingredients and let us know how it goes.

I am writing in response to the woman who has bladder problems. I soooo used to have that problem and I also know the perfect woman to help her. Please give her my e-mail so I can help her get out of pain!!

I often use egg yolks as my go to thickener for my pies. I just use 6 egg yolks and cook it over a low heat, stirring very frequently until think. Once it starts to thicken, stir constantly until it is almost a pudding texture, chill until set.

I know that an equal amount of cornstarch to arrowroot powder works as a substitute, however, I use arrowroot to replace cornstarch in all recipes since I find that I am intolerant to corn. Also I am eerie about all of the possible additives used in cornstarch and have heard negatives things about it’s effect on our health, especially those who are more sensitive. If you’re fine, maybe give it a try!

Elana, I really appreciate the work you do on this blog, and your patience at all the recipe-adapting questions! I believe you recently changed the way you refer to chocolate (removing references to Dagoba chips and substituting the phrase “dark chocolate 73%”), but now it doesn’t sound right. Could you possibly weigh it and convert it to ounces? 2 cups of Dagoba chips = how many ounces of regular unsweetened baking chocolate? If I recall correctly, I think a cup of regular semisweet chocolate chips is about 6 oz. on the scale. That could mean this recipe uses 12 one-oz. squares or 1 1/2 boxes of Baker’s unsweetened baking chocolate. Am I right? I would love to try this recipe, it looks wonderful.

I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! I almost didn’t bring it to the gathering becuase I goofed and didn’t sift the arrowroot powder, so it was all lumpy. I decided not to be embarassed and brought it anyway, turns out I saved the day for a few people who keep Kosher and couldn’t eat any of the other desserts- they loved it! Some even thought the lumps were little tapioca balls;)Thank you for your wonderful recipes! I tell everyone about your website!

Tammy -I think that’s a good idea, though am a little concerned that some people might be confused by the weight instruction…I’m going to mull over your suggestion before I make any more changes. Thanks so much!

Laney -What a great story. I’m so glad you made this and took it to the dinner even though it wasn’t perfect. Good for you!

As far as I know arrowroot powder and arrowroot flour are the same thing –however, it is always important to check and see what your ingredients are made of by calling the manufacturer if you have celiac disease or are gluten intolerant.

Elana – Thanks so much for creating this blog and all the recipes in your pantry! I’m recently diagnosed as having a gluten allergy and I thought I would have to make my own recipes, but then I found your blog. With your help I’m ready to bake!

I’m wondering how milk substitutes for coconut milk? I used to be intolerant of dairy but I’m not anymore, special thanks to God for the help there. Can I try your recipes with milk when you call for coconut milk or would there be too many differences in those two products?

I had never heard of dagoba chocodrops until reading in your site (as well as cooking with kudzu or blanched almond flour as opposed to almond flour). I wondered how regular GFCF chocolate chips would work in this recipe? I use Enjoy Life chocolate chips and they are very tiny so I often use less than most recipes call for as most recipes call for a much larger chip. Is the dagoba chip normal or mini-sized? I guess if I knew about the weight of 2 cups dagoba I could sub equal weight of my mini-sized chips. I hate to experiment with such expensive ingredients until I better understand their function and interaction in the recipe. Can’t wait to make this!

For the crust, I used only half the agave and a combination of toasted hazelnut oil and grapeseed. I also added about half a teaspoon of good cinnamon and a little more than half a teaspoon of instant espresso (little granules).

For the filling, I couldn’t find the Dagoba chocodrops, and besides, they have sugar in them, which I can’t tolerate. I used six blocks of unsweetened baker’s chocolate and about 3/4s of a bar of Green and Black’s baking chocolate (72% with added cocoa butter). I only added probably 1/3 cup of agave. Everything else went according to recipe.

Mind you, I can’t eat refined sugar, and don’t sweeten most of my things at all (I’ve only recently learned I can tolerate agave). But it is sweet enough for me the way I made it. I could probably cut the agave to 1/4 cup and add a smidge of stevia. I’m using raw, dark agave, and it’s important to the flavor (as opposed to using only stevia) because it gives it a full roundness (I find stevia very flat tasting).

It set up perfectly and cuts nicely.

Also, I didn’t have a good glass pie dish. I used one of the “large” cheapy pie tins you can get from the store, and it was just fine. I do suspect the glass would have made the crust better, but I didn’t have the resources, sadly.

The amount of chocolate I used pretty much entirely eclipses the taste of the coconut milk. My coconut averse husband pronounced this pie completely fabulous. :)

If you wanted a more milk chocolate taste, rather than dark chocolate, I’d say start out with four squares of baking chocolate and go from there.

I sort of made this the other day, with some necessary variations and it turned out amazing! – completely different really, but I love my accidents. I used a buckwheat chocolate crust and raw organic cacao nibs. Then I ended up freezing it for a few hours in the prebaked crust and in place of chocolate. Surprisingly it tasted like cookies and cream cheesecake (to me anyway) from the good old days (when I was unwittingly poisoning myself)
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe when I have all the ingredients on hand. Bought your book – amazing – so much to try! Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with us!

I can mix unsweetened cocoa powder, coconut oil and agave but not sure how much to use to equal 12 ounces. If you or anyone else out there knows how to convert I would be deeply thankful.
The Hershey conversion would be 2 cups of cocoa powder that seems like too much. Please help.

I watched “The World according to Monsanto and Food Inc” and I have started a minimum of one year doing my best to eat organically and avoid GMO’s, corn, gluten, potatoes (any of the whites – refined and or any white or artificial sugar xylitol was made from birch trees but now is made from corn, -(Agave, honey, stevia ok), salt – (I’m using Himalayan pink salt only), white flours, and soy and most animal products. I eat grass fed eggs and pacific water shellfish occasionally.

Salt and sugar and corn and soy hidden everywhere. They even use soy lecithin in tea bags. I don’t know why one would need to emulsify tea. Gotta read the labels.

I am outraged at what Monsanto has done to our food supply and our legislators for not requiring labelling. My friend can eat non GMO soy but is highly allergic to the GMO soy. BTW I was told all or most soy, wheat, corn and bovine products in the USA have been tampered with along with tomato paste. Do you have any tips or references to find out how to tell the difference in tampered foods or true organics?

I am delighted to read your recipes and I don’t feel deprived at all. I would love to find more recipes that don’t have the above no no’s. I read your substitute page but did not find sugar or chocolate conversions.

I would also like permission to link to your recipes. I am journaling my experience and hope to publish it at some point.
Many blessings,
Sunny

This recipe is fabulous. I only made the cream (I used my own pie crust recipe), but it was absolutely to die for. I made it for my sis-in-law who has been unable to eat anything with gluten, dairy, sugar, potato, corn, and several other things for over a month. She very nearly cried when she tried it. And my kids (who are GFCF) loved eating all of the extra chocolate cream that didn’t fit in the crust. Thank you for creating such a wonderful recipe!

First, I love your site. I follow the Paleo lifestyle and your recipes have really helped me to stay on track. I made this with some adjustments for my diet. The crust was just ground pecans and coconut oil, formed and chilled. I used almond milk instead of coconut and I switched the dark chocolate for carob and cocoa powder. The result was a super rich delicious dessert. The only issue that I encountered is that the pie wouldn’t set in the fridge. I ended up freezing the pie (super tasty). Do you think if I up the arrowroot to 1/3 c, it will help set or even just switch to coconut milk? Thank you again so much for your wonderful recipes!

I wanted to just say thank you for your wonderful recipes and nutritional insights, it is an emotional one because I have finally found a delicious resource that fits into every one of my loved ones needs…my mother is a celiac, it almost killed her 2 years ago before they finally figured out what was wrong with her…my son, who is 2, is a vegetarian by choice and finding sources of protein he will eat is challenging at times…my daughter, who is 1, has a milk sensitivity…I myself have been trying to get my weight under control after 8 years…and my husband, who is pretty healthy overall, has a big sweet tooth that gives him unhealthy cravings.

I have been going gluten free for the past month or so and have been trying my hand at baking, to some success, but my husband always complained of the aftertaste of the gluten free products…until now!

I made this pie for him Friday night and he loved it! Everything I’ve made of yours has been received to rave reviews by my kiddos, husband and mom. It is so nice to have 1 recipe that fits everyone’s dietary needs and still tastes so decadent, delicious and homemade.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can’t wait to utilize your foundation of baking (agave, almond flour and grapeseed oil) and use it in our family’s recipes and goodies. Blessings to you and yours!

PS I also live in Colorado and love that I don’t have to mess around with high altitude conversions in my baking :)

Hi Elana,
I made this recipe yesterday for my book club girls. (We read The Help, so the chocolate pie was a critical part of the dinner!) Everyone loved the pie, although it was really rich. I think the chocolate might have been a bit intense since I broke up a bittersweet chocolate bar into the 2 cups ad maybe it was too much. I also crushed up gluten-free oreo-style cookies for the crust. Thanks for all the delicious recipes on your site!!

I could only find coconut cream so I used it instead of coconut milk. After cooling the filling for 30 minutes, I poured it into the crust and then set the entire pie in the fridge to set. The pie turned out to be delightfully rich!

I have tried this recipe 2 times without success. Tie piecrust is awesome, I even used it in a quiche that was really yummy. But the cream filling? I cant get it to work right.
The 1st time I read the recipe 2 cans of coconut milk (14 ounces) I thought that it meant 28 ounces TOTAL…. I only had cocnonut milk in the carton.. it turned out too runny. Then I tried it the 2nd time with 1 14 ounce can of cocnut milk thinking the 14 ounces was the TOTAL amount of milk. Too thick.. it tates good but it didnt seem to have enough filling for a 9″ pie plate either.
help???? Is it 2 cans of milk-14 ounces each? Or 2 cans of milk-14 ounces total??

Hi Elana,
Every time I make the gluten free chocolate pie, there are gelatin like bubbles even after I have sifted the arrowroot. blended by hand blender, added the chocolate and chilled the mixture. I stir and whisk, which can cause bubbles, but take away most of them. What might I be doing incorrectly? Also, I might have missed the area where you recommend brands of blanched almond flour. Could you please give me this info?

Are they bubbles or lumps? If they’re bubbles there’s probably not much we can do about that, it’s just air. If they’re lumps then you would just need to whisk even more vigorously.

In terms of the brands of almond flour that I recommend, just click on the green words “almond flour” in any recipe and they are linked so that you will be taken to a source where you can purchase the type I recommend. Hope this helps and please let me know how it goes :-)

Just wanted to say I need to buy more almond flour because I am making too many of your recipes! (And I can’t be bothered making more of my own, which I have been doing so far but I appear to be using almond flour at a much quicker rate than anticipated) I’m not a celiac but find that your recipes taste great and satisfy my sweet tooth without making me feel sick afterwards.

I only tried the crust for a lemon curd pie I was making, and thought it looked a bit moist in comparison to normal pie pastry – is it meant to? Anyway, I ended up using twice as much almond flour. It tasted great but I think adding in too much almond flour meant I should have baked it for longer before filling.

Dear wonderful Elana , I foll ow all of your recipes, particularly baking, religiously. Ive made close to 100 of your creations. This is one of my favorites and the most delicious pie ever. Thank you. http://www.elanaspantry.com/chocolate-cream-pie/

So far, three of your recipes made and three recipes have passed the ‘husband test’ – you’re recipes are a winner! I’m wheat intolerant so to make it easier I just avoid gluten, and to find recipes for cake, cookie and dessert substitutes that are easy, delicious AND my husband also loves is fantastic :) Thank you so much!

I love to Bake and cook. Recently I have been changing the way I eat. Baking has been the biggest challenge as vegan and gluten free is a lot different from my old habits of baking. I found your site and have tried several recipes, including this one. I am impressed with the results. Thank you for sharing this as its really nice for people to share what has worked for them.

I made dairy free chocolate mousse the other day by using coconut cream, agave (or stevia) and unsweetened chocolate powder. The key is to putting the coconut cream in the fridge to get cold first, then whisking vigorously (I used my kitchen aid) with the other ingredients. I then put in the fridge (covered) to set for 30 min and it was very thick and DELICIOUS. I am excited to try this recipe as well. Thanks for all your great recipes Elana – you are a lifesaver.

I made the Chocolate Cream Pie recipe for Christmas dinner and, while it was very good, I was forced to put it in the freezer because it would not get firm. I followed the recipe exactly so I was wondering if anyone else had this problem.

I made your chocolate cream pie for Easter and it was so delicious! When I was making it, I couldn’t help myself and tasted the “cream” before adding the chocolate and I thought it tasted similar to coconut cream and was wondering if you’ve adapted the recipe for a coconut cream pie and if so, would you mind sharing? My husband and dad both love coconut cream pie. Thanks!

Important note: if you have to substitute cornstarch for the arrowroot powder, reserve a little coconut milk (cold or room temp) to mix it into *before* adding to the hot coconut milk. Otherwise, it will glob together and not thicken the mixture.

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